A few months ago, I picked up Marie Kondo's book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up." I was in the midst of doing something called the Whole30, which is a way of eating that has you eliminate sugar, dairy, carbs, artificial sweeteners and probably a few other items I no longer remember. It is intense, but I was ready to try it at a friend's prompting.
I was losing weight on it and spring was in the air and cleaning, naturally, appealed to me. I looked over my new book. The way Marie Kondo has lined everything up is just like I imagine her house is lined up: easy to access.
A confession: I did not read the book start to finish.
I started to read only sections that appealed to me, though I did start where she says you must start—with your clothes. I did a lot of what she suggests but a lot I did not do, mostly because of time constraints. I have three kids, the end. If I had the means to pay someone to do this method to my house, I would do it 100 percent. Pay someone that is.
Kondo tells you to "start by discarding, all at once, intensely and completely." She wants you to discard everything that does not "spark joy." This whole "sparking joy" idea helped me discard a lot. I tend to get rid of things anyways, I hate all of the time wasted moving stuff from one room to another and believe sentiment is held in the heart and how you treat others, not in a deceased person's old sweatshirt that you never wear but can't giveaway.
She wants you to put all of your clothes in one gigantic pile.
I read this at 9 a.m., knowing I had to leave at 2 p.m. to get the kids. I knew this would not work for me. The second I were to do that, someone would come down with the stomach bug.
But I did go through things with a vengenance. I loved asking myself if it sparked joy (turns out a lot of clothes did not for me). (Bad mom disclaimer: I donated a few of my kids' stuffed animals. I swear they hadn't touched them in months, but they were very upset with their disappearance. I ended up buying them new stuffed animals. Lesson learned.)
I'm down with that. My clothes are normally folded haphazardly and lay around in wrinkled messes. I was smoothing my clothes and arranging them in drawers the way she tells you to, folding everything in her special way. Disclaimer: I did that for my drawers and a few of my kids' drawers, but my husband primarily does the laundry. I did not want to tell him he now had to fold the clothes a certain way. Now, a few months down the road, the drawers are a bit messy. Hence, her notion that you must do it all at once.
Folded like she says to, to the best of my ability. I love this drawer.
I am taking over laundry now and will head us in that direction.My t-shirt drawer. Not looking so hot. That's a combination of me still having too many t-shirts and my husband and I folding differently. Don't look Marie Kondo.
She says to "Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right." She claims arrows that rise to the right make you feel lighter. I did that. You have to categorize everything and arrange it within the category. I got a little confused sometimes but did it and I like it.
I have felt that my closet is very uninspiring and is not helping me lose weight. Now, you might think that's crazy and point to the carbs, but Marie also says magic can happen when you organize and/or lose weight. I organized my closet according to her.
When my mom came to visit, she commented on how few clothes I now had and then, on Day 4 of her visit, she said, "I cannot believe how together you have looked every single day I have been here." Because I had less to choose from, I was picking items that worked. I was drawn to wearing clothes versus my workout wear everyday, which rarely saw a drop of sweat anyways.
I love her idea that everything should have its place.
My playroom is still a little out of control.
This is not because she's a neat freak but because she wants to create a harmonious home. When I come home, my white table greets me with a nifty place for my keys, some candles and some sunscreen. It makes me feel good.
I do have four other people to contend with, including a huge, shedding dog. So I'm often putting the family's stuff where it should be—but, because I have given things a home, it's easier.
"In essence, tidying ought to be the act of restoring balance among people, their possessions and the house they live in," Marie says in her book.
You might think that's hogwash, but I know lots of moms who complain they can't breathe or work in their homes because they are so messy. For me, getting rid of the objects that bother me when they are not in place has helped me breathe more easily in my own home.
Cleaning the house really almost got the best of me, but I have realized I'm spending most of my time vacuuming, dealing with dishes and laundry versus putting stuff away on top of those other chores, which will never go away until my kids go to college.
I enjoy having an even more uncluttered house, so that I can have moments where I'm not cleaning. Yes, my kids' toys, shoes and backpacks get thrown around, but I'm able to let that go.
"Students generally demand an even higher level of comfort in their space, once they have successfully resolved the issues of excessive belongings and storage."
I want to be more comfortable in my house because I want to be more relaxed.
My un-cluttered hall table that greets me and makes me feel calm after coming back from driving in LA traffic.I think Marie Kondo's book has lent me great ideas and been a good guide with its easy-to-read suggestions and well-laid-out inside. I have found that I'm creating and working a lot lately, and maybe it's because less time is spent moving stuff from point A to B.
UP NEXT: Me, Myself and KonMari
